Happy Thanksgiving!

I can't believe Thanksgiving is upon us. Once we come to Jarod's birthday in September, it seems like the rest of the year races down hill! I realized today that is has been two weeks since I posted last. We have been busy, as usual. But it's been a good busy.

Russ and I took off to the Pastor's Conference and State Convention in Pensacola a few weeks ago. Yes - we drove right into Hurricane Ida. A little wind and rain - but we survived it just fine! It was my first time attending something like this and I will have to say, I was quite apprehensive. I do not enjoy all the politics, but there is a new resurgence in the Baptist Convention of a Great Commission Task Force and Russ felt we needed to be there to support it. It wound up being a wonderfully encouraging time for me. They had an entire seminar specifically for Pastor's wives and it was so nice to be able to listen to great speakers and soak up God's word. The worship was awesome! We were even able to attend a concert on the last evening with NewSong, Blue Tree and Rush of Fools.

As I have stepped back into my role as Pastor's Wife and Church Secretary, because I am having to commute back and forth, I feel like I just focus on "doing the next thing". That is not bad in and of itself, but I don't want to get so caught up in the "next thing" that I miss a ministry opportunity that could be right in front of me. I am asking God to continue to give me a love and passion for the people here at Ocean Park and also for the lost in the community. It will be easier when we actually live here - but God isn't ready for that just yet. So, I need to be more aware of the people and situations around me.

We have had two different people look at our house in the last two weeks, but nothing has come of it. So, we continue to drive. Is it horrible to ask God to wait until after Christmas to rent our house? Russ laughs at me - I am ready and willing to move. But the thought of putting all the Christmas decorations up, only to take them down to put them up again! Ugh! It's exhausting just thinking about it. I just don't want to move a Christmas Tree. But, if that what God brings about, I will comply - it just won't be fun.

Anne had her Thanksgiving Feast at Pre-K this past Friday. She was so cute dressed as a little Pilgrim. Of course, I forgot my camera. Bummer.

We leave on Tuesday afternoon to go down to Marcia and Jeff's in New Port Richey for Thanksgiving. Anne's been telling everyone she's "going to her Sasha's for Thanksgiving." The kids are so excited. We are too. Seems the Lord allows us to be able to get out of town about once a month and the break is always appreciated. Besides - this means I get some of my traditional food for Thanksgiving! Russ misses out on his Southern stuff - but we will be with his family for Christmas.

Thanks for your continued prayers. We will keep you posted as always. We pray that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We all have so very much to be thankful for.

Great Day for a Picnic

Today we had a picnic with our friends from Pathway Church at Washington Oaks State Park, just south of St. Augustine. It was an absolute beautiful day. What a blessing it was to be with everyone. Russ and I commented on the way home that no matter how long it has been since we have all been together - we can all just pick up where we left off. We spent 3 wonderful years with these people. We laughed together, cried together, rejoiced together and prayed together. We were a family. Just as God intended His church to be. It's been hard to go our separate ways but God is blessing us each differently and is still using our experiences from our little church. It's good to know that we have such a good support system as Russ and I branch out in a new church. Today for me though, it felt like I was "home".

The big oak tree - isn't it amazing?

Family shot

This Gazebo was in the middle of a pond created by a natural spring.

Marc & Sam

Bruce and Emily

Jon, Shanon, Maddie & Cooper

Checking out the pond

This is what they found! UGH! Everyone get back!

The "Big" kids

Candid group shot


Jason, Sarah, Leif and Elijah
I know this was taken a few weeks ago - but somehow I missed you guys today! Sorry!

Still no news on the house - so we will continue to wait. God's timing is perfect so we shall see. I'm really hoping nothing will happen now until after the holidays but you never know.

Russ and I are off to Pensacola tomorrow for a Pastor's Conference. We are excited to get away by ourselves for a few days and be refreshed. Pray for traveling safety, for rest, relaxation and spiritual refreshment. Pray for Jarod and Anne as they are staying with friends separately. They are quite excited and we are sure they will do well. Until next time......

Trick or Treat!

We got together tonight for our annual Trick or Treat Fellowship. It was so fun to be with good friends. Here's a pic of the entire clan of kids - God has added a few to our mix this year. What a blessing!

And of course, one of those additions is our Baby Chloe! What a cutie!!!! She slept through all the Trick or Treating - but she sure looked adorable in her hat!

Jarod as BoBoFett (From Star Wars) and our little cowgirl, Anne.

We can't leave out Will (the Lion) and Ollie (the little monster) - How cute are they?

Ready to go.....

Jarod and Zander

Maddie has a new baby brother, Cooper. The Princess and the Frog! Hee! Hee!

Just thought I would share. Until next time......

Anne's Fall Festival

Anne's Pre-K had their Fall Festival this morning. She had a blast! She enjoyed the Pony rides a lot but said it was too short. I told her that this wasn't Oregon and there were other kids that needed to ride too. She's so funny. It's hard to believe it was over a year ago that we were on the horse ranch in Oregon. Being part of the staff like we were - Anne would spend a good hour or more on a horse, several times a week. She definitely had special privileges. For those of you who just started following our blog, CLICK HERE to link to our Oregon blog. I don't add to it any longer, but you can see what God did in our lives Summer 2008.

Posing in the pumpkin patch......

She wanted a butterfly on her face today. I'm actually off to stick her in the shower as it's rubbing off on everything and is kind of annoying. But it was really cute at the time and that's all that matters.

Tomorrow, we'll have Trick or Treat pics........

Brother and Sister Pumpkins

The kids decided they wanted brother & sister pumpkins this year. I was excited because they were old enough to put their hands inside and take all the gunk out and I didn't have to! YUCK!!! Enjoy!

Two Weddings and a Funeral

Sounds like a recent movie title, huh? We didn't see this movie - but we have our own version. As we step into our new ministry at the beaches, it seems many opportunities have already come up. Russ was contacted to do a funeral of a 97 year old man who had passed away. He had outlived his wife and children and his friends wanted him to have a Christian burial. Russ accepted the task. Even though he did not know this man and was not able to give his friends any kind of assurance where he was in death, He was able to share the gospel with those at the funeral. What a wonderful opportunity.

This past Thursday, he officiated the marriage of a couple in our church. Russ has been meeting with them and having pre-marital counseling sessions. It was a small, private ceremony at our church - a middle aged couple that didn't want all the fuss. It was so nice.

Now, let me tell you about another man in our church. He has terminal cancer and is living his last days with his 94 year old mother. She, along with Hospice are helping to care for him. She is amazing! He and Russ have gotten close over the past few months. He is a strong, Christian man and he and Russ bonded very quickly. He's even asked Russ to do his funeral service. Russ accepted and is quite honored. Russ goes over to help encourage him but leaves encouraged. Russ and I were talking the other day and I said to him, "Isn't it amazing that you can go over there and be so comfortable. That you can encourage the family as they deal with hospice, you can know confidently what is normal and what isn't. You can be okay just being in the room with him because you understand all that is happening. You don't feel intimidated by the situation?" Yet another purpose for my mom's and his sister's death. God was preparing us for this ministry. Preparing us for these types of situations. It would be so difficult to know what to do and what to say if we had not been there ourselves.

So - as this man nears the end of his life, he's been dealing with his past and finding closure. Last Thursday, after the wedding, the bride and groom took us to lunch. We were all chatting and having a nice time and Russ kept getting phone calls. He was ignoring them and letting them go to voice mail and then realized that it might be about this other man. He had been going down hill all week and we were expecting a call at any time about his passing. So, Russ excused himself and went and took the phone call. As it turns out, it was this man's daughter and instead of giving us bad news she said, "Um, I have a really strange request - my parents want to get remarried! Can you do this today?" Russ chuckled and told her that he has just finished up one wedding and he would be more than happy to do another!

Turns out, they had divorced many years ago. He had called his ex-wife into his room to apologize to her and make things right. The next day, he went a step further and proposed! She said yes and Russ officiated their marriage at 5:00 last Thursday afternoon. All of their children were present and Russ said there wasn't a dry eye in the house! Since then, this man has been at great peace and is ready to be with the Lord. What a wonderful testimony. Russ actually just got a phone call that they are beginning a morphine pump on him and he doesn't want to start it until he speaks to Russ. So - Russ is on his way now to be at his side. Please pray with us as this family continues the process of saying goodbye. We are so very thankful to have been able to watch God do mighty things in this family. This is what ministry is all about.

Quick House Update

Many of you have been asking about our house situation. We went looking on Friday and found a great house in an awesome neighborhood - but we found out today that the application for our house has not been sent from Iraq yet. They have put a hold on incoming and outgoing mail for security reasons and she was not able to mail it as planned. So - once again we sit and wait. I have to trust that if that is the house for us - that it will still be available once the application gets here - which could be weeks. If not - then He has something better planned for us. Until then, we continue the commute and we wait. It's kind of frustrating to move forward in a positive direction only to be put on hold again. But the Lord knows and we will trust His timing. Thanks for your continued prayers. We'll keep you posted......